India: Enduring Discrimination
A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission
7 May, 2014
AHRC-STM-083-2014
In February 2014, the Government of India decided to constitute a
committee to study and frame remedial measures to address the concerns
of citizens hailing from North East India residing in different parts
of the county. This is an initiative to understand the layers of
discrimination faced by persons from the North East. Notably, the
committee’s focus is discrimination by private actors, i.e. social
discrimination.
But what about the discrimination the Union government itself
practices against the people of the North East? Surely, rectifying
such enduring discrimination should take primacy for Union, if
equality and the rule of law is a foundational principle?
Firstly, considering the Union government's claims of success in
containing insurgency, today, six decades after independence, it is
surprising that a majority of the North East remains tagged as a
‘disturbed area’ under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958
(AFSPA). A colonial legacy, AFSPA has been in force since 1958;
initially passed by Parliament to be in force for only 12 months. Over
decades of enforcement, it has brutalized the people of the North
East, unleashing a steady spate of extrajudicial executions, rewarding
murderers in uniform with total impunity.
This Act, and the actions it has continued to unleash, has helped
place India second only to Iraq in deaths directly related to conflict
and ensured India is counted as one of thirty-one countries with
systematic extrajudicial executions. The AFSPA led strategy for the
North East has discriminated against ordinary Indian citizens, and
reinforced a deep sense of alienation.
Secondly, while it may be trite to state that India’s acclaimed
economic growth has not been uniform, it should be noted that the
division is not simply along an urban-rural divide. Being bestowed
with abundant natural resources and tourism potential has not helped
the North East, as it has, as a region, been neglected, poorly
governed, and kept conflict-ridden due to antagonistic policies. The
result has been mass migration. Youth from the North East that migrate
to metros for educational purposes opt for livelihood opportunities in
adopted cities, not a return to turbulence.
Development, for the people of North East India, has remained a mythical word. Corrupt regional satraps, the intended beneficiaries,
have gobbled up the money lavished by the Union government, money ostensibly meant for region. And, mega-development projects have had
little to do with the common people of North East.
For instance, the proposed plan for the construction of 168 mega dams
in Arunachal Pradesh has nothing to do with the power needs of the
region, which are minimal. With ‘national interest’ at the
forefront, masking the construction corruption that awaits its
mega-moments, it is the people of North East who will suffer
devastating environmental impact. It follows that local citizens have
defied such ‘developments’.
Thirdly, consider another form of discrimination practiced – the
disowning of people of the North East, if not overtly, then silently.
The recent decision by the Union government to call off a youth
exchange programme in China, after being advised by the Chinese
government not to include participants from Arunachal Pradesh,
deserves attention.
China has been denying visas to Indian citizens whose travel
documents show Arunachal Pradesh as their residence. Since 2011, the
Chinese embassy started issuing loose paper visas / stapled visas to
residents of Arunachal Pradesh seeking to travel to China; these visas
are not recognized by the Union of India. This has resulted in
continued humiliation and discrimination for the people of Arunachal.
In 2011, athletes found to have ‘stapled visas’ were disallowed
from boarding a flight bound to China by the Indian immigration.
Arambam K. Techi, Joint Secretary of the Indian Weightlifting
Federation, and another weightlifter, lost a valuable opportunity to
participate in a weightlifting championship held in Beijing.
In January 2012, Mohonto Panging was denied a visa by the Chinese
embassy as he was found to belong to Arunachal Pradesh. However, the
Union government did not call off this tour.
In 2013, Maselo Mihu and Sorang Yumi, two teenage archers from
Arunachal Pradesh were sent back home by Indian authorities from the
Indira Gandhi Airport in New Delhi after they were disallowed from
boarding a China bound flight on grounds of possessing stapled visas.
On this occasion as well, the Indian government didn’t call off the
programme and the rest of the team participated in the event.
The key here is not the foreign policy strategies and rhetoric being
adopted – the ‘clear and consistent’ claim on Arunachal Pradesh
vs. the nothing but a ‘difference in perception of the Actual Line
of Control'. It is the silence of the Indian state on the enduring
impact of some of its ordinary citizens. It is the insensitivity of
the Indian state to find a working solution, one that insulates its
citizens from discrimination, not matter the form in which it may
arrive.
Indian citizens of North East India need to be treated by the Union
of India as equal citizens in practice. A study of its own
discrimination, even now, six decades after independence, is in order.
Only then can the right remedies be adopted, and only then can the
social discrimination suffered by North Easterners living in different
regions of India be fully addressed.
For further information, contact in Hong Kong, Anjuman Ara Begum: [email protected]
About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional
non-governmental organisation that monitors human rights in Asia,
documents violations and advocates for justice and institutional
reform to ensure the protection and promotion of these rights. The
Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
* This PR was sent to e-pao.net by Asian Human Rights Commission who can be contacted at india(at)ahrc(dot)asia
This Press Release was posted on May 08, 2014
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